


Believe Me, I'm Not Hostile

by bindobud



Series: AU ABC's [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Gen, Nightmares, Panic Attack, airport, mentioned Michael/Lindsay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 03:18:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5190095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bindobud/pseuds/bindobud
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Attention passengers for flight 7282 to Austin, Texas: due to turbulent weather conditions, your flight has been delayed until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we hope you have a pleasant evening.”</p><p>Airport AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Believe Me, I'm Not Hostile

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Darren Criss' Human: "Believe me, I'm not hostile, I just want to hear you laugh"

_“Attention passengers for flight 7282 to Austin, Texas: due to turbulent weather conditions, your flight has been delayed until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we hope you have a pleasant evening.”_

Gavin Free sighed. He knew he shouldn’t have taken this detour on his way back from London. His attention was diverted, however, when he heard muffled cursing from the man two seats away from him.

“Really? Great. Motherfucking great.”

By the time Gavin had turned to investigate the source of the unconventional language, the man had his head buried in his hands, the tips of his fingers curling and tugging on the auburn curls poking out from under his dark grey beanie. The bag by his feet was plain black, no fancy decorations or unnecessary junk, just a bright green shoelace tied around the handle, most likely for identification. Gavin wondered who the man was, why he was going to Austin, whether he had family there, a job, or maybe just a hotel room and week of vacation. While he pondered this, staring out into the space behind the man’s bag, angry eyes glinted in his direction, emphasized by dark circles underneath and an expression that bordered on snarling. Gavin’s eyes went large and innocent, blinking in the direction of the stranger as if to ask ‘what have I done wrong?’

“What are you looking at, weirdo?” The redhead’s accent was thick and jarringly noticeable after Gavin had spent so long in the company of almost exclusively British people.

“Um, nothing. Sorry.” There was a pause as the man looked him over judgmentally, before Gavin continued. “So uh… you’re going to Austin as well?”

“Apparently not, according to the airline.” The man’s voice quietened, but was no less angry as he pulled out his phone. “Fuck, I’m gonna have to call Burnie…”

Gavin stretched out his hand. “I’m Gavin. Why are you going to Austin of all places? Business, pleasure, what?”

The stranger glanced up briefly, then went back to his phone. “I’m Michael, and I work there. That enough for you nosy?”

Gavin’s hand slowly dropped back down. “I’m just trying to be friendly.” A pause, then, knowing the information was unwelcome but determined to become friends with somebody if he was stuck in the terminal for a while, he continued. “I’ve got family there. Well, kind of family, they took me in a few years back when I worked there last. They’re really sweet, you wouldn’t think it to look at them though, they’re all tattoos and alcohol and generally pretty rough looking. And their daughter is growing up great, lost her first baby tooth a few months ago, can you believe it?” In response, Michael merely dialled a number on his phone, shooting Gavin an annoyed glare before turning away and holding the phone up to his ear.

Gavin sighed exasperatedly and looked down at his watch. It was almost midnight, and as he half-listened to an announcement saying how long the plane would be delayed (another few _hours_ , this was getting ridiculous), and after getting up so early to finish off some film work before he left, he decided a nap was most definitely in order. Gathering up his hefty bags and using them as pillows and footrests, Gavin curled up on his side, trying to ignore the feeling that he was being rather angrily watched.

~~~

It didn’t feel like he’d been asleep for long when Gavin was awoken by a sound he could just barely hear over the hushed background noise of the terminal. A short, high-pitched whine made him raise his head, and the sound of shuffling clothes and heavy breathing caused him to turn to the man sleeping on the seats next to him. Surprised, Gavin got up and kneeled in front of his new found ‘friend’, remembering belatedly that his name was Michael, and thinking to himself that he should really get more sleep if he can’t even remember somebody’s name properly.

“Uh… Michael?” Gavin whispered softly, but got no response. He placed his hand on the man’s arm and tried again, still unsuccessfully, but now he could feel the minute twitches in Michael’s muscles. Finally, Gavin tried gently shaking Michael’s arm, which finally got a response, albeit an alarming one.

“Lin-” Michael gasped and started to call out something, but cut himself short as he bolted upright, grabbing onto Gavin’s arm and digging his fingers in, heaving in unsteady breaths.

“Michael? Hey, look at me. Michael, are you alright?” Gavin’s brow was knitted with concern, and as Michael turned to look in his eyes, he could see a faint shine of sweat on the redhead’s freckled cheeks. There was a long pause, so Gavin, gauging the possible severity of the event, started explaining the situation, his voice becoming slower and his dictation clearer.

“You’re in an airport terminal, your flight has been delayed, I think you’re travelling alone because I haven’t seen anybody with you. I’m Gavin, you don’t know me but we talked a little before you fell asleep, and I woke you up because I think you were having some sort of nightmare, but you’re safe now. Is there anything I can do to help you?” Michael blinked a few times and focused on his breathing for a second before responding.

“Could you um… Do you have any water with you?” Gavin nodded and went straight to his bag, fetching a water bottle and bringing it back to Michael, who had managed to sit upright on the seat. He took a few small sips, then screwed the cap back on and gave Gavin a weak smile. “Sorry about that dude, nobody should have to deal with that without being warned first. Speaking of, you’re good at that shit, you know somebody who gets nightmares?”

Gavin laughed, “Only me. No, I’m friends with a dude who has panic attacks all the time. He’s usually a little more high maintenance though, he gets them a lot around other people so he has to be taken somewhere quiet, which believe me is hard to find sometimes. But you seem pretty alright once you’ve woken up, nothing too serious then?”

“Nah. I get nightmares a lot when I’m sleeping somewhere outside of home, I really should have known better. Sometimes I can trick myself if a bed feels the same as my one at home, but airport terminal seats? That was just asking for issues.” Just then another announcement rang through the terminal, making both men look up.

_“Attention passengers for flight 7282 to Austin, Texas: your plane is now ready for boarding. Once again, we apologize for the delay and wish you a safe flight.”_

“You okay to get going, Michael?” Gavin asked softly, clearly still making sure the redhead was okay. Michael smiled and nodded, passing the water bottle back to Gavin and pulling his boarding pass from the front pocket of his bag. “Alright, I guess I’ll uh, see you round then. Try not to sleep on the plane.” Gavin said with a wink, receiving a playful punch on the shoulder in return as he turned to gather his bags.

“See ya, boy.” Michael waved as he headed to the gate, thankful for the help the stranger had provided.

**Author's Note:**

> Rooster Teeth does not have my permission to use this work of fiction in any video or content unless otherwise stated.


End file.
